1. Field of the Description
The present description relates, in general, to handheld input devices such as smartphones and, more particularly, to a system for use in supporting handheld or hand-operated tools, objects, and interaction devices (often grouped together as handheld or hand-operated “input devices” herein) on a user's hand so as to reduce physical strain on the user and also to improve ease of use or operation of the hand-mounted input device.
2. Relevant Background
There is a growing trend towards the use of small handheld and hand-operated devices. For example, there has been a widespread adoption of smartphones and handheld tablets for interacting with digital data and for use in communicating with others with such devices. Many of these devices are used as input devices, e.g., to interact with an application (or “app”) running on the device, for communicating with others by sending text messages (or texting), and so on. The users of these hand-operated devices generally have to hold or grip the device in one hand while operating the device, e.g., interacting with buttons, sliders, and the like, on a touchscreen, with the other hand. Extended use of handheld and hand-operated devices can cause physical strain on the user's fingers, hand, and arms and limits the use of the hand gripping the device from other tasks (e.g., difficult to use fingers with other input devices when gripping the handheld device).
Extended and repeated use of hand-operated input devices may be useful in many applications. As one example, virtual reality (VR) rooms have been developed that utilize immersive three dimensional (3D) projection and other techniques to allow a user to experience a virtual world such as for VR gaming. Also, it is becoming more common for designers to utilize immersive 3D VR to do real world modeling. In these and other settings, it often is desirable for the user to comfortably hold an interaction or input device for a long period of time such as to play a game or to do design or other real world work, and it may be useful for the user to be able to move their arms and hands around to interact with the virtual environment, which is difficult if gripping a larger device or performing acts that require two hands.
Holding conventional input devices such as joysticks, game controllers, smartphones, tablets, and the like for extended periods often results in fatigue and hand discomfort. These problems are due to the requirement that the user grasp or hold the input device and also due to the resulting complicated, awkward, and/or restricted range of movement of the user's or operator's thumb and fingers while they try to operate the specific controls interface (e.g., to interact with a touchscreen with the thumb of the hand gripping the device). As a specific example, smartphones require a user to grasp the device at the same time they provide movements to navigate the digital interface of specific applications, and this requires constant visual confirmation by the user to make sure that their thumb or finger is providing tactile inputs that are registered to the appropriate control areas depicted by images presented on the display (e.g., is their thumb actually over an input button on the touchscreen).
Some efforts have been made to allow a user to use a handheld or hand-operated device in a hands free manner, but these efforts have not been wholly successful. Several designs call for straps or bands that slide over the user's fingers. This reduces the amount of effort it takes to hold the device, but the user typically still is required to grip or steady the device with their fingers and to operate the device with their other hand. Such a design is undesirable in some applications as it can require two hands to provide input and ties up the user's fingers on the hand wearing the finger strap-based device such that it is difficult to use these fingers for interacting with other devices or even with the supported/held device. Hence, these products make it easier to hold a device for longer periods of time which may be useful when the device is being used as a communication device (e.g., a cellphone), but the problems associated with interacting with the devices to provide input remain.